1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to orthodontic hand tools, and more particularly to tools used in procedures commonly performed in dentists and orthodontists offices.
2. Background Information
In the fields of orthodontics and dentistry, a variety of hand tools are commonly used to perform procedures within a patient's mouth. These hand tools include tools to probe, measure and hold various pieces of both mouth tissue as well as orthodontic hardware. These tools assist the practitioner in grasping, holding, moving and replacing various items within a patient's mouth.
One of the most common procedures performed by an orthodontist involves the placing and positioning of corrective devices commonly called braces. The typical arrangement for braces requires placement of a series of brackets upon a patient's teeth. Most brackets have a base portion that is affixed to a patient's tooth surface and a wing portion, which extends away from the base and forms a channel into which a connecting wire is placed. A connecting wire is placed between the channels of the braces and applies pressure upon the teeth so as to straighten the teeth and achieve a desired result.
The placement of the brackets upon a patient's teeth requires that alignment and positioning of the brackets be obtained before the brackets are bonded into place. Usually, the brackets are placed upon a patient's tooth in a free-floating alignment. After the brackets have been oriented to the desired position and orientation on the teeth, the brackets are bonded to the teeth of the patient using a fixing means such as a light source or ultrasonic waves.
One way of placing the brackets is to use a pair of long handled curved tweezers to grasp a portion of the bracket and to place the back portion of the bracket onto adhesive glue that has been pre-applied to the enamel of the teeth. One problem that occurs with most of these types of tweezers is that the beaks of the tweezers extend too far from the curve portion of the tweezers. Thus, while attempting to place a bracket against a tooth, the angled portion of the tweezers contacts an adjacent bracket that had already been placed and aligned. This contact often forces the prior placed and aligned bracket out of alignment and requires subsequent resetting of the formerly aligned bracket. As a result, the process of placing and aligning brackets can be long and tenuous, as aligned brackets are constantly disrupted by the placement of an adjacent bracket. This constant resetting significantly impairs and slows the process of placing braces.
In addition to these problems, the placement of brackets upon a tooth can be awkward or difficult for the person placing the brackets. The rear teeth (called the “sevens”) are particularly difficult to place brackets on or work on because these teeth are located to the rear of the mouth and the orthodontist must work in a limited space encumbered by the patient's teeth, tongue, gums, and cheek. Traditionally configured pliers cannot reach back into these spaces and, as a result, placement of orthodontic brackets in these locations can be exceedingly difficult, cumbersome, and time consuming.
After the brackets are aligned in a desired location and orientation, the adhesive is then bonded or sealed onto the tooth by the use of a light or other means. The placement of the bracket onto the enamel causes excess glue to be displaced onto the surface of the tooth. If this adhesive is not removed, an unsightly glue spot can result. In addition, the presence of the adhesive on a tooth can serve as a trap for plaque and cause tooth decay. The shape and dimensions of most prior art tweezers make removing or scraping this adhesive away difficult or impossible because the thickness of the beaks is too large to allow such scraping. Furthermore, thick prior art tweezers do not allow placement of a bracket by grasping the bracket within the wire engaging groove.
An additional problem that occurs in placing brackets upon a patient's tooth is the inaccurate placement of the brackets in a desired spacing or location. Bracket placement upon a tooth is critical to efficient orthodontics. The height of the bracket on the tooth is especially important. Each type of tooth may have a different ideal bracket placement height. For example, canines require a different bracket than incisors. Often orthodontists utilize different separate devices to check height, while some simply “eyeball” the location.
Measuring the location for placement of a bracket requires measuring distances within the mouth with a very small measuring device. By contacting the patient, this measuring device becomes contaminated. Orthodontists also use rulers to measure the distance between brackets and to determine what size coil spring to place. A ruler is also used to measure and determine how much overbite the patient has on each appointment. This allows the orthodontist to track a patient's progress.
Most orthodontists use plastic rulers. These plastic rulers have a variety of disadvantages. First, plastic rulers cannot be heat sterilized. Therefore, they must either be disposed of, which increases costs, or treated with a germicide in order to sterilize them for use in other patients' mouths. This cold sterilization process requires that plastic rulers be soaked in a cold sterilizing solution for several minutes. Some parties may be impatient and not wait the designated time; thus sterility is not achieved. If the designated time is allowed to elapse, the ruler must still be placed back in the drawer or on a separate tray setup. This individual handling requires more effort to maintain organization. Parties may forget to sterilize the rulers or may place them in different locations. As a result, a sterile ruler is often difficult to find when needed. This often causes the orthodontist or dentist to wait while a ruler is found. This waiting is inefficient and costly to the orthodontist.
An additional problem that exists in dental or orthodontic practices is that an individual, while working in a patient's mouth, will need to retrieve supplies from a closed drawer. Usually, this individual will be wearing gloves. If something is needed from a nearby drawer, the drawer cannot be opened with their gloves because these gloves have been contaminated by contact with the patient. If the drawer is opened and an object retrieved by a party with contaminated gloves, all of the objects that come into contact with the glove will then also become contaminated.
One solution to this problem is to remove the contaminated gloves, retrieve the object from the drawer, and put on new gloves. This procedure is not efficient or wholly sanitary, as hands may become contaminated by contact with a soiled glove. Furthermore, if another object needs to be retrieved from the drawer, this entire process must then be repeated. This is cumbersome and expensive. In some cases, such precautions are simply not undertaken. A party will simply open the drawer with the contaminated hand and retrieve the item that they need. This action is unsanitary and unacceptable.
Another solution in this situation is to open the drawers with a contaminated glove and then wipe down the drawer handle with a germicide. This procedure, however, has several problems. First, the wiping action may miss small areas, leaving an area for bacteria and other germs to proliferate. Second, an employee may simply forget or neglect wiping the drawer handles. Third, in order for the germicide to function properly and sterilize the surface of the handle, a period of time must elapse. It is impractical to touch the drawer, apply the germicide, wait for the germicide to sterilize the drawer, and then open the drawer.
Therefore, what is needed is an aseptic way to easily access objects within a drawer of a dental or orthodontic office without contaminating objects of the drawer. What is also needed is a tool with appropriately dimensioned portions so as to provide grasping abilities for placing orthodontic brackets upon a patient's teeth. What is also needed is an orthodontic tool that will allow for placement of an orthodontic bracket in a free-floating arrangement without disturbing a proximate bracket. What is also needed is an orthodontic tool for engaging in a variety of activities connected with the orthodontic placement of a bracket. What is also needed is an accessible measuring device for measuring the placement of brackets upon a patient's teeth. What is also needed is a heat sterilizable ruler attached to a dental tool. What is also needed is a heat sterilizeable system of tools having the aforementioned capabilities.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a series of heat sterilizable dental tools with the ability to grab and place an orthodontic brace upon a tooth. It is a further object of the invention to provide an orthodontic tool that allows placement of a bracket on a tooth without disturbing a bracket on a proximate tooth. It is a further object of the invention to provide a tool for obtaining sterile access to drawers in a medical or dental office. Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilizeable, easily accessible tool for measuring distances within a patient's mouth. Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilizeable system of orthodontic tools that can perform a variety of functions in an orthodontic setting.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description as follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.